Panel

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a panel which is suitable to be used for roofing, side cladding, partitioning, etc., which may be profiled and which is provided with a plurality of apertures dimensioned to permit light to pass through and covered with translucent or transparent material.

0 United States Patent [1|13,604,164

[72] lnventor Anthony Frederick Festing Mason 2,186,297 1/1940 Hunnebeck 52/18 Durban, Republic ol'South Africa 2,354,408 7/1944 Sherrill 52/18 [21] Appl. No. 795,552 2,380,600 7/1945 Loewenstein 52/13 [22] Filed Jan. 31,1969 2,565,698 8/1951 Patterson 52/628 [45] Patented Sept. 14, 1971 1,419,126 6/1922 Besnard 52/18 [73] Assignee Festing Developments (Pty) Limited 2,3 35,208 1 1/1943 Harrap .J 52/630 X Durban, Natal Province, Republic of ,655,239 10/1953 Kenlock 52/208 X South Africa 2,741,000 4/1956 De Martin 52/208 [32] Priority Feb. 5, 1968 2,741,001 4/1956 De Martin 52/208 [33] Republic f South Africa 2,892,516 6/1959 Kessler 52/630 [31] 68/0735 3,143,827 8/1964 Showalter 52/626 Primary Examiner.lohn E. Murtagh [54] PANEL Att0rneyJacobi, Davidson, Lelling & Siegel 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 52/206 [51] E06b H12 [50] Field of Search 52/206,

202, 203, 630, 625, 208, 507,626, 622,507, 18 ABSTRACT: The invention provides a panel which is suitable to be used for roofing, side cladding, partitioning, etc., which [56] Rem-mm Cited may be profiled and which is provided with a plurality of aper- UNITED STATES PATENTS tures dimensioned to permit light to pass through and covered 1,773,175 8/1930 Edwards 52/624 with translucent or transparent material.

PANEL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates to panels. More particularly the invention concerns structural panels suitable to be used for various purposes, such as for roofing, side cladding, partitioning, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, there is provided a panel having a plurality of apertures dimensioned to permit light to pass through and covered with translucent material.

Preferably the apertures are covered with a transparent material. Furthermore, the covering material is preferably applied to the apertures in airtight and liquidtight relationship, to permit light to pass through, but to prevent the passage of moisture, wind, etc.

The panel may be of substantially flat configuration, with the apertures disposed in spaced relationship. Alternatively, and preferably, the panel may be profiled, with the apertures disposed in spaced relationship in a face of the profiles. For example, the panel may be provided with parallel undulations or corrugations, which may be'of curved or angular configuration.

In a preferred embodiment, the panel is provided with angular undulations, each undulation having at least one substantially flat face, preferably towards the side thereof. The apertures may then be provided in the flat face of at least some or all of the undulations. Preferably the apertures are spaced along the length of an undulation.

In practice, the undulations may be of rectangular configuration in cross section, or of triangular or truncated triangular configuration in cross section, or of any other suitable configuration.

It will be appreciated that an undulated panel having apertures disposed in corresponding sidewalls of the undulations, would be particularly suitable to permit the passage of light from a particular direction. For example, panels of this nature maybe arranged in a suitable manner to permit south lighting if used in the Southern Hemisphere, and north lighting if used in the Northern Hemisphere.

The apertures may be of any suitable shape and dimensions. For example, the apertures'may be of elongated shape, and may be disposed longitudinally along the undulations of a profiled panel. In one form, the apertures may have rounded ends.

Any suitable transparent or translucent covering material may be used to cover the apertures, for example a suitable synthetic plastics material. It has been found that a polymethyl methacrylate resin, or a polycarbonate polymer material, will give particularly favorable results in practice. Alternatively, suitably toughened glass may be used.

The transparent or translucent covering material may be secured over the apertures in any suitable manner, such as with the aid of adhesive, or by riveting, screws, etc. If an adhesive is employed, it should be effective for securing the particular transparent or translucent covering material and the particular panel material in each case, in a durable manner.

ln' an alternative embodiment, the transparent or translucent covering material may be secured over the apertures with the aid of a continuous resilient gasket, if desired with a suitable cooperating clamping element. For example, the gasket may have opposed slots to engage with the marginal regions of the panel and the covering material, and if desired a clamping element may be provided, which is adapted to clamp the walls of the slots securely against the faces of the panel and covering material.

The panel itself may also be made of any suitable material, for example of sheet metal, plywood or wood veneer, synthetic resin, asbestos material, chipboard, etc. The panel material used in each case would depend, inter alia, upon the ultimate use of the panel. Furthermore, panels of any suitable dimensions may be provided, as required.- Y

According to a further feature of the invention, the panels may have mating engagement formations along theirlongitudinal edges, whereby adjacent panels maybe engaged. The mating formations may comprise male and female formations.

The panels according to the invention may be used for a variety of applications where it is required to permit the passage of light. Thus the panels are very suitable f r ;use as roofing panels, such as in factories, warehouses, and the like, to provide .roof lighting. In addition, the panels may be used for side cladding, or partitioning, or the like.

By providing a profiled panel according to the invention, in which the apertures are positioned to one side only of the profiles, south lighting or north lighting may effectively be provided by appropriate arrangement of the panels.

It will be appreciated that panels giving any desired degree of percentage of lighting may be provided, depending upon the number and size of the apertures, and their spacing on the panel.

The invention extends also to a method of manufacturing a panel according to the invention, which includes the steps of providing a plurality of apertures in the panel, and applying a transparent or translucent covering material over the apertures, either before or after providing'a profile formation to the panel. I

The profile may be provided in any suitable manner, such as by pressing, rolling, etc. The apertures may also be provided in any suitable manner, such as by punching, cutting, etc.

In practice, the apertures need not be of large dimensions, so that the structural strengthof the panels will not seriously be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention and the manner in which it may be carried out in practice, will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of one embodiment of a profiled panel according to the invention, prior to application of the aperture covering material;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a profiled panel, prior to application of the aperture-covering material;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section along line Ill-III in FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 4 to 7 are fragmentary cross-sectional views illustrating different ways of applying the aperture-covering material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, a panel according to the invention is profiled to present angularundulations, generally indicated by the reference 10, of truncated triangular configuration in cross section. In the side faces 10a of the undulations l0, apertures 12 are provided. As shown, the apertures 12 are of elongated shape with rounded ends, and are arranged in longitudinally spaced relationship along the undulations 10.

The apertures 12 are covered by a transparent or translucent covering material 14, which may be of flat or curved configuration, and preferably the covering material 14 is applied in airtight and liquidtight relationship to permitlight to pass through but to prevent wind and moisture to penetrate.

The covering material 14 may be secured over the apertures 12 with the aid of adhesive, as shown in FIG. 4, and to this end an adhesive should be selected which is capable of ensuring an effective and durable bond.

Alternatively, the covering material 14 may be secured over the apertures 12 by rivetting or screwing, as shown in FIG. 5. In this case, it may be necessary to provide sealing means, such as in the form of a resilient gasket, between the panel and the covering material, and also possibly a locking plate, e.g. against the outside face of the covering material.

In yet another embodiment, the covering material 14 may be secured by means of a continuous resilient gasket 16 and a cooperating continuous clamping element 18, as shown in H0. 6. The gasket 16 has opposed slots to receive the edges of the panel a and the covering material 14, and the clamping element 18 forces the walls of the slots against the faces of the panel 10:: and covering material 14 in sealing relationship. With a suitably designed resilient gasket 19 as shown in FIG. 7 no separate clamping element need be used.

The panels may in practice be of any desirable width and length, having any suitable number of undulations 10. Furthermore, apertures 12 may be provided in the side faces 10a of all undulations, or only of some undulations. The undulations may also be of any suitable configuration, as already mentioned.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a panel may have mating formations along its longitudinal edges, such as in the form of male and female formations 20,22 by means of which adjacent panels may be engaged.

The panels and the covering material may be of any suitable material, as already set out above. Likewise, the apertures may be of any suitable size and spacing, depending upon the degree of light to be passed through.

lclaim:

l. A preformed panel for transmitting indirect natural light from the exterior of a building to the interior thereof in substantially evenly distributed amounts, said panel comprising a light-impermeable sheet having profiled undulations formed therein to define a pair of spaced-apart first and second substantially flat channel bases in the same plane as each other, a first substantially flat face extending upwardly from the first channel base and inclined at an angle towards the second channel base, a second substantially flat face-extending upwardly from the second channel base and inclined at an angle towards the first channel base, said second substantially flat face having a plurality of spaced-apart apertures formed therein along its length, and light-transmitting material covering said apertures in watertight manner.

2. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base at an angle equal to the angle at which the second substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base.

3. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 2, wherein the first and second substantially flat inclined faces meet in a common line to define an upwardly extending profile of triangular cross section.

4. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 3, wherein a plurality of parallel upwardly extending triangular profiles are defined on a single sheet, adjacent profiles being separated from one another by a channel base in the same plane as the first-mentioned channel base.

5. A preformed panel for transmitting indirect natural light from the exterior of a building to the interior thereof in substantially evenly distributed amounts, said panel comprising a light-impermeable sheet having profiled undulations formed therein to define a pair of spaced-apart first and second substantially flat channel bases in the same plane as each other, a first substantially flat face extending upwardly from the first channel base and inclined at an angle towards the second channel base, a substantially flat top face extending from the first inclined face towards the second channel base in a plane substantially parallel thereto, a second substantially flat channel base at an angle inclined to the vertical to define a truncated triangular profile, the second substantially flat face having a plurality of spaced-apart apertures formed therein along its length, and light-transmitting material covering said apertures in watertight manner.

6. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 4, wherein the first substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base at an angle equal to the angle at which the second substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base.

7. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 6, wherein a plurality of parallel upwardly extending truncated triangular profiles are defined on a single sheet, adjacent profiles being separated from one another by a channel base in the same plane as the first-mentioned channel base. 

1. A preformed panel for transmitting indirect natural light from the exterior of a building to the interior thereof in substantially evenly distributed amounts, said panel comprising a light-impermeable sheet having profiled undulations formed therein to define a pair of spaced-apart first and second substantially flat channel bases in the same plane as each other, a first substantially flat face extending upwardly from the first channel base and inclined at an angle towards the second channel base, a second substantially flat face-extending upwardly from the second channel base and inclined at an angle towards the first channel base, said second substantially flat face having a plurality of spaced-apart apertures formed therein along its length, and light-transmitting material covering said apertures in watertight manner.
 2. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base at an angle equal to the angle at which the second substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base.
 3. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 2, wherein the first and second substantially flat inclined faces meet in a common line to define an upwardly extending profile of triangular cross section.
 4. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 3, wherein a plurality of parallel upwardly extending triangular profiles are defined on a single sheet, adjacent profiles being separated from one another by a channel base in the same plane as the first-mentioned channel base.
 5. A preformed panel for transmitting indirect natural light from the exterior of a building to the interior thereof in substantially evenly distributed amounts, said panel comprising a light-impermeable sheet having profiled undulations formed therein to define a pair of spaced-apart first and second substantially flat channel bases in the same plane as each other, a first substantially flat face extending upwardly from the first channel base and inclined at an angle towards the second channel base, a substantially flat top face extending from the first inclined face towards the second channel base in a plane substantially parallel thereto, a second substantially flat channel base at an angle inclined to the vertical to define a truncated triangular profile, the second substantially flat face having a plurality of spaced-apart apertures formed therein along its length, and light-transmitting material covering said apertures in watertight manner.
 6. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 4, wherein the first substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base at an angle equal to the angle at which the second substantially flat face is inclined to its channel base.
 7. A preformed panel in accordance with claim 6, wherein a plurality of parallel upwardly extending truncated triangular profiles are defined on a single sheet, adjacent profiles being separated from one another by a channel base in the same plane as the first-mentioned channel base. 